RADNOR -- When Garnet Valley fell to Conestoga in double overtime in the regular-season finale a few weeks ago, Jaguars head coach Frank Urso felt his team had played as close to a perfect game as possible.

"The first time we played them, we played mistake-free ball," Urso said. "We took them to double overtime and hit a pipe in overtime, so we should have beaten them last time. But at the end of the day, you can't make mistakes against them."

Thursday night, the Jaguars proved why no one has been able to knock the Pioneers off their perch atop the PIAA lacrosse world. Despite hanging with the two-time defending state champions for the better part of the first half and much of the second half, Garnet Valley struggled to keep pace with Conestoga in the middle frames. The Jaguars ceded defensive ground and suffered through an onslaught of great Pioneer shots to suffer a 12-6 loss in the District One title game at Radnor High School.

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"District One is just such a great district that getting to the championship game, with the teams we went through, ... I think that in this tournament as a whole, we came together as a team and we needed that," said Under Armour All-American close defender Ryan Guittare, whose team opens up the state tournament against Central League rival Radnor next Wednesday at 4 p.m. at West Chester Henderson.

No. 11 Garnet Valley wasn't predicted by many to be one of the five teams to meander its way through the tournament far enough to grab a state berth, but the Jaguars came alive in the tourney. However, they flat-out ran out of gas against the No. 1 PIAA-eligible team in the state and four-time defending district champions. A pair of tallies from All-Delco Jules Raucci and a rebound goal from Matt Hurley staked Garnet Valley to an early 3-2 lead, but that's when the Pioneers got to work.

Tyler Brooke and Bradlee Lord, the latter of whom will join Guittare in the Under Armour game, combined to score four goals in 2:15 before the end of the half to swing the momentum in Conestoga's favor. While Raucci temporarily stopped the bleeding with his third of the night, four second-half Connor Frisina goals sealed the Jaguars' fate.

"They had that little run, got those four goals with great shooting," Urso said. "I think the guys got a little bit down, and you start to press. From there on out, I don't think it was them beating us, it was us beating us. We were making mistakes all over the field."

With less than a week until the Jaguars tangle with the Red Raiders in the opening round of states, Raucci knows that Garnet Valley needs to work on fixing its mistakes that plagued the team not only against the Pioneers, but in an 8-7 overtime loss to Radnor earlier this year.

"We've just got to get back to work on the practice field," said Raucci, who tied Frisina for the game-high with four goals. "Conestoga's a great team, but we didn't look as good tonight."

While Raucci was disappointed in the result, Garnet Valley's playoff resurgence has coincided with an increase in Raucci's offensive production. After being bottled up at times earlier this year against some of the Jaguars' better opponents, the Drexel signee used the district tournament to remind people just how good he can be.

"I feel like the offense as a whole is starting to click," Raucci said. "Everybody's starting to pitch in. Everyone's been pitching in all season, but right now, I feel, is the best we've been operating all year."

Urso concurred with his senior sniper's opinion, and pointed to a late-season change in offensive strategy as a main factor in what's helped a once-stagnant offense flow creatively and efficiently.

"We changed the offense around," Urso said. "We made some changes to the offense, we made some changes to the personnel. I think the offense is starting to click, but when we're not getting as many possessions as the other team, it makes it difficult."

That just gives the Jaguars something to work on before the Radnor game.

In the District One fifth-place game:

Radnor 15, Central Bucks East 7

Ben Junior wasn't ready to let his Radnor career come to an end, so the Red Raiders senior fired in seven goals and added two assists as Radnor qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history.

"We had a really tough schedule this year, and we had some losses in there against good competition," Red Raiders head coach John Begier said. "But I think we learned a lot from those games and they helped us in the long run. You look at our seniors like Ben, and (All-EPSLA selection) Mike Barnes (17-24 on faceoffs), and they really carried us."

Tom Hemcher had a strong outing in support of Junior, scoring three times and setting up three others, while Brendan Manderack continued his sterling season with 11 saves. All-EPSLA pick Peter Donato added a goal and three assists.